


Bleeding Skies

by xantissa



Series: Bleeding Skies [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: M/M, Multi, Slash, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-13
Updated: 2012-07-13
Packaged: 2017-11-09 21:59:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/458913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xantissa/pseuds/xantissa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When is it that a human loses his humanity? How many lives does he have to take to reach that threshold? Cloud has already been staring into the abyss for too long; it didn’t even hurt to finally let himself fall. Post AC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Treshold

**Author's Note:**

> AN: the idea was that Sephiroth comes back after AC, free of Jenova influence but still more than a little insane and even more powerful than ever before, now that he can use that brain of his. He lack something, feels incomplete, his memories are all but shadows of what has been. Sephiroth is searching for himself, trying to heal on his own. Guided by some vague memories and clues from beyond he knows Cloud is the key. But before the blond can help him heal, Sephiroth needs to make sure that there’s at least something left of Cloud Strife that used to be. The Great General will use many and different, often even more damaging ways to bind Cloud to himself.
> 
> There will be lot’s of sex, Sephiroth/Cloud, Sephiroth/The remnants, Seph/Cloud/Remnants and and there might be some Zack thrown in too (in any permutation possible – I sometimes like to write pron, so shoot me. Also There’s going to be some Vincent and the remnants. Others – maybe.
> 
> The stories don’t won’t always be in chronological order and may come far apart (job takes up a lot of my time). The fics will range from barely drabbles, ficelets, longer stories.
> 
> Bleeding Skies is basically an universe and I intend to have a lot of fun with it. If somebody wants to have fun with the concept – be my guest.

Threshold

 

The blood splattered the green, green grass in a wide arc as his sword cut through magic and flesh as if it wasn’t even there. 

A hero, they called him.

He turned around, feeling the incoming blow more by instinct than any true senses, First Tsurugi blocked the firaga as if it wasn’t anything more than a harmless illusion. Even before the flames cleared from the air, he was already in motion, crossing the distance between himself and another of his enemies in a fraction of a second. 

A glorified killer, that was what he called it.

The wide blade cut through armor and flesh, separating skin, muscle and bone as if it was paper. He watched as the girl, a child really, coughed up blood and folded down, sliding off his sword like a broken doll. She was dead long before she hit the ground.

Why?

With a practiced flick of his wrist, he cleaned the blood from his sword and turned towards the last of the surviving enemies. 

They told him he had to kill the monsters. To protect the Planet.

It sickened him, that he felt nothing. That girl wasn’t more than sixteen years old and he didn’t even bother with talking to her. He just killed her as quickly and efficiently as he killed her companions. There was a time he would have felt guilt, sadness even, at having to kill. This time he felt only mild irritation. He was supposed to make some adjustments on Fenrir today…

No one told him he would become the very monster he hunted.

He wasn’t aware of the fierce ache in his eyes or the fact that his pupils elongated and turned vertical, cat slits that were eerily reminiscent of somebody else. 

Even as he turned towards the child in the wheelchair, the green kept creeping into the blue of his eyes.

He was so tired, so very tired of killing, of hurting… so damn bitter.

The child was androgynous, pretty and much too young for Cloud to discern its gender at first glance. But he wasn’t there to understand, was he? Just to kill the enemies showed to him. Like a dog, a monster on a leash that murdered but only at the order of its masters.

No more.

The child all but glowed with power; spells swelling and blooming in a rapid succession far outstripping anything the humans were capable of casting. The air itself burned and the ground boiled, sky bleeding red and purple as the child let the charge go.

... no more…

He could feel the way the Jenova cells inside him activated, the way the mako and the Planet‘s power sang through him. The magic was nothing against him, a child’s play to rip through all the offensive spells, to force the enemy to defend.

He could no longer stand the pain. What good did having a conscience do, a soul, if the pain never ended.

He didn’t even pause, didn’t even slow down as the small, obviously frail body of the child buckled under the strain. The small frame curled over the wheelchair, retching blood, as he kept closing the distance between them in gravity defying leaps.

It was no use pitying this child because surely there would be another and then another villain for him to kill and he was just too damn tired to care anymore. He felt the last of what he was shrivel and die inside as he gathered energy for the last blow. 

He just wanted it to stop hurting. He wanted to be numb since he truly doubted that he would ever be granted peace. He was just the planet’s guard dog and guard dogs weren’t granted retirement. They served until they dropped and then another dog would be picked in his place.

Zack, Sephiroth, Aeris, Nibleheim… and so many others... he just couldn’t, wouldn’t, stand it any more.

Cloud felt himself slipping away; oddly aware of what was happening even as his emotions were slipping away from him.

He felt nothing as he landed lightly in front of the tiny figure, dwarfed by the automated wheelchair. His hand didn’t shake as he raised the First Tsurugi for the final strike. His eyes never flinched from the small form as the power of the Planet curled around him setting the world ablaze in a light so bright it hurt to watch.

What Sephiroth tried to destroy, what Zack died trying to protect, what Tifa and Aeris struggled to keep safe was no longer there. He felt nothing because his heart was finally dead. There was no mercy in him as he swung the huge sword downward, uncaring of the shouts from somewhere below, where his companions were struggling to fight off the minor beasties summoned by this time’s enemy.

He would kill this child and, with it, the last of Cloud Strife that ever lived, leaving only the tireless shell of a human that once was. A memory. It felt a little like dying as he watched the movement of his sword through the air, as if in slow motion.

* * *

Vincent knew that something wasn’t right. Could smell it in the air, now so saturated with power it was making his demons restless.

Cloud didn’t have trouble fight off this particular group, the magic users that wiped out everyone else in their way. As a matter of fact, Cloud was almost too efficient in his fighting, disposing with the two strongest users in barely minutes and going, with unnerving focus, for the last one. The powerful child in the wheelchair. 

He reloaded the Death Penalty and abandoned the battle at his friend‘s side to follow Cloud up into the ruins. Something inside him, an old and primitive instinct screamed at him, urged him to go faster, to borrow from his demon‘s power and rise through the air at a breathless speed.

And he could see it, feel it when something in Cloud snapped. The boy was pushed way too hard for too long and did what Vincent feared he would do for such a long time.

He slipped away.

Vincent saw no remorse, no hesitation as Cloud raised his sword to the incapacitated child and prepared for the final, killing blow. It was there in his body language. So still and cold, he seemed familiar to Vincent, yet different. Until he saw the way Cloud’s eyes, now almost green, caught light and the slit pupils almost glowed with power.

“Cloud, no!” He yelled, but his voice could not penetrate the haze of magic that surrounded the blond warrior in a nimbus of frightening power. He sighted Death Penalty, willing to take out the Child before the sword connected because he knew, with the very core of his being, that if Cloud killed this time… he would no longer be the Cloud Strife they all knew.

The rapport of his shotgun had never felt this heavy as he fired, all three barrels at the same time, racing against time, praying that the bullets were faster. 

The sudden change was so powerful it rocked him, even as far as he was from the site. It seemed that the very fabric of reality tore apart with the most deafening sound he had ever heard. Everything quieted suddenly. The fires roaring all around them suddenly died, the vague sounds of battle coming from below quieted and the very air seemed to stand still as a mass of darkness appeared over Cloud.

Vincent watched in a kind of terrified amazement as the darkness solidified into a horrifically familiar figure. He watched as a black feather drifted slowly, almost gently to the ground and long, silver hair moved in a nonexistent breeze.

Sephiroth was just as imposing and powerful as Vincent remembered him. The black leather of his coat moving on the same currents of darkness as his hair. One of the General’s hands was clenched around Cloud’s wrist from behind, keeping the deadly blade from finishing the blow while his second hand curled around the blond fighter’s face, gently covering his eyes.

* * *

Time seemed to stretch into infinity as the only thing Cloud was aware of was the incredibly powerful presence so close behind him. He could feel the heat of the hand covering his eyes and smell the unique scent of worn leather. The hand curled around his wrist was incredibly strong yet careful not to break bones. Careful, in ways Cloud hasn’t seen Sephiroth be since... Nibleheim.

He could feel the man behind him shifting closer, soundlessly, making him feel the press of that larger, harder body all along his back, making him feel the way the lapels of that long black coat brushed over his legs. He stilled so completely, even his lungs refused to work.

“Hello, Cloud.”

The voice, so close to his ear, made him shiver. The voice was as smooth as he remembered. Just as low and perfect, a purr almost, that got him thinking about things one shouldn’t about his best friend’s lover. Things he shouldn’t be thinking about his enemy, the man he killed three times already.

But something was different this time. While Sephiroth felt just as powerful and dangerous as always, he didn’t raise any alarms. The almost unconscious threat the man exuded wasn’t directed at him this time.

Cloud stayed frozen, unable to move, to comprehend just what was going on. If it was the same man that tried to destroy the Planet and took huge amounts of pleasure in ripping Cloud‘s heart and mind apart, Cloud would have no problem fighting him off. However Sephiroth seemed oddly passive, contained, in a way that was totally unfamiliar to the blond.

“Calm down.” The low purr shivered against his skin, making him inhale sharply as he felt the familiar mental pressure urging him to let go, to give in to the demand of the silver haired man. Before he had the time to comprehend it, to resist, Sephiroth already pushed his hand down, making First Tsurugi clang as the tip hit the ground, carving deep gouges in the concrete while its weight wasn’t supported by Cloud.

“Let me take care of this.” The low voice commanded and Cloud found himself obeying just as he did all those years ago, when Sephiroth first used his ability to force all the Jenova cells to cooperate, making Cloud into a puppet.  
Even knowing that, remembering the previous terror, Cloud stayed still. He didn’t even flinch as the familiar thrum filled his ears and the tingle of magic prickled his skin when the general summoned his blade – The Masamune. 

For years, being this close to the ancient weapon meant imminent danger for Cloud and those around him. Yet this time something felt different. He didn’t try to dislodge the hand covering his eyes so gently, even as he felt the other man draw his arm back, preparing to strike. Briefly he wondered if Sephiroth would kill him this time, but it didn’t really matter to him any more. Beneath the gloved hand covering his eyes, Cloud closed his eyes and waited for whatever was going to happen, his fight abandoning him at last.

He never flinched; the metal of the wheelchair screeched horribly and warm blood splattered him, choking him with the coppery smell.

He did nothing, said nothing as the darkness swallowed him up; the last sound he was aware of was the rustle of feather, when a huge black wing folded around him, separating him from the world.

TBC

07.2009


	2. Calling part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like it or not, he needed the blond. So now that he had acquired the boy, he was going to make sure to bind him in all the possible ways.

He woke up on an unfamiliar bed, still dressed, his head humming with a thousand hurts. Looking around left him even more confused. He was in a small, cozy room consisting of the bed he was laying on, coved in furs that tickled his skin, a small chest of drawers, and a huge fireplace crackling with fine. The white walls were oddly curved, almost luminescent, but it was the sight of the white wood beside the fireplace, the almost luminescent quality of it that nudged his memory.

The City of Ancients.

He sat up on the bed, letting his feet fall on the cold floor.

His head hurt, his eyes hurt and he couldn’t really remember what was doing here.

He still had his sword harness on, but his sword was nowhere to be seen. It was terrifying, being without the sword he carried for so long.

But what was he doing here? He tried to remember but the headache spiked, centering on his eyes, making him groan. He tried pressing the palms of his hands into his burning eyes, but it didn’t help.

Time seemed to escape from him, because the next thing he knew he was walking barefooted through the empty, white halls of the Ancient’s building towards… something. Something that pulled at him.

The first thing he seemed to notice as he stepped into the large room was the light.

Green light flooding the large, empty space from the pool situated in the middle of it. A pool filled with Lifestream, the oddly lit water shimmering and curling in mystical forms… and in the middle of that, submerged waist deep was a painfully familiar person.

Sephiroth.

Cloud could feel something in him whimper, screech with confusion and pain… before it too, slipped away. Like his memory.

The green light was casting odd shadows at that painfully perfect face. The General’s eyes were closed, head lowered in a gesture so very familiar and his hands were cupped almost gently around a single shard of materia that pulsed and glowed unlike any materia Cloud saw before. It would flare brightly for a moment and then dim until it was dark and dull, lifeless almost.

Something inside him whined at Cloud, screamed that it wasn’t right, that it should be bright and full of life… it felt familiar, like a memory on the edges of his mind.

But it all faded in the simple presence of the Silver General. As the man raised his head, the silver hair falling back in a silky wave and opened his eyes.

Green eyes, glowing as much as the Lifestream, with pupils elongated and slit like a cat’s stared at him without expression.

“Sephiroth.” He whispered, stunned by the sheer presence of the man all over again.

“Cloud,” acknowledged the man that was supposed to be twice dead already, and moved out of the pool.

Cloud stared, in a kind of horrified fascination as his nemesis started moving towards him, hands closing over the strange materia and hiding it out of sight. Not only was Sephiroth fully clothed, the trademark coat and sword harness criss-crossing his naked chest, but he was also fully armed.- the Masamune resting along his back while Cloud was completely unarmed. The older man moved with grace and power, leaving the pool of pure Lifestream as if it was air, untouched and unconcerned.

He didn’t even realize that he was backing up with every step Sephiroth made until the man stopped and tilted his head in what appeared to be curiosity.

“What are you doing here?” He managed finally, hating the way his nemesis made him feel, so young and weak and so very terrified, pain squeezing his chest so badly he wondered if he had broken ribs. His eyes also hurt. “Jenova is gone.”

The man smirked, oddly pleased.

“Yes, that she is.” He paused, approaching Cloud a bit more. “However while she was a big part of me, she wasn’t everything.”

The blond stopped backing up when he felt his shoulders hit the wall.

“Why…” He started but was interrupted by the older man.

“You are bleeding.” Sephiroth reached out to him and Cloud flinched instinctively, his body all too aware of the pain this man was capable of.

Sephiroth paused, an odd expression crossing his face, something that looked almost like frustration.

“Do not fear me”

Cloud had an incredible urge to laugh at that moment. The request was so damn ridiculous.  
He hated the fact that he was unarmed, his sword nowhere to be seen. While he was fairly confident that he could take Sephiroth in a swordfight, this felt different.

First, he never really fought the man wholly sane before. While Jenova was powerful, she wasn’t really complicated, almost one-dimensional. She had only one goal and she had Sephiroth to achieve it. Sometimes, Cloud wondered why it was so… easy to defeat Sephiroth. A whole nation of Wutai could not defeat the famed General, and he with a bunch of friends managed what so many others couldn’t? The man had much more experience, tactical knowledge than all of AVALANCHE put together yet they could follow him so easily…

It was so obvious now, that he looked into the familiar face. Sephiroth was still as beautiful, as otherworldly as he was used to. But this man had more personality in him than the puppet controlled by Jenova. His eyes with slit pupils were hard to read, their inhumanity distorting whatever emotion the man was feeling. Yet his body language was different. It almost reminded him of the man he knew through Zack all those years ago in Shinra. If there was one thing Cloud remembered of the Silver General that seemed the most… odd… to Cloud it was how careful he was, all too aware of potential damage that he could deal to those unenhanced.

Now, watching the man watch him with inscrutable eyes, Cloud saw the same kind of control, containment, that was such a big part of Sephiroth before all hell broke loose. 

“Why?” He asked, curiosity getting the better of him. “Why did you intervene… before?”

* * *

The silver-haired man dragged his eyes very slowly over Cloud, measuring him, weighing him in a way that made Cloud’s heart stutter. From the dark clothes, over the bare arms so different from the scrawny teenager he used to know, through the long neck that was perfect and unmarked up into the face that was both familiar and not.

“You were slipping away.” Came the simple answer.

Sephiroth was rather distracted. Being close to the boy made him feel oddly unsettled. He was aware that he didn’t have all of his memories, didn’t even have most of them. He also knew that there were some memories… that were not his. Odd, foreign, yet almost familiar memories that filled the void inside him temporarily, letting him hold onto that little bit of sanity he managed to preserve so far.

He didn’t remember feeling this... need in himself before, but he could no longer trust his memory. As he watched the strong, compact body smelling so strongly of mako, he felt something inside him stir. Something powerful, foreign but not threatening. 

Ever since coming back to life he was guided by flashes of insight from the odd materia. It was the same presence that filled the gaps in his mind, in his soul, giving him time to heal himself. Time to rebuild.

That same presence fanned his need this time, making him see the blond man as someone... interesting. 

He needed Cloud Strife, his instincts screaming at him that the man was necessary for his survival. The blond has whatever it was that Sephiroth needed. So now that he had acquired the boy, he was going to make sure to bind him in all the possible ways. 

Sephhiroth reached out to touch that golden skin, unmarked, stretched so tightly over the surprisingly vulnerable line of neck for such a powerful warrior. Oddly enough the image of this blond man with beautiful face and alluring strength kept overlying with an image of a young teenager, all huge eyes and gangly arms, staring at him with emotions in his eyes that were simply incomprehensible to the silver-haired man.

The blond flinched when his fingers reached the slender neck, and tensed.

The heat of his body woke something in Sephiroth. With a small smile, he reached deep inside himself where he hid all those things he managed to free from Jenova. He gripped the control of remaining Jenova cells and Called, his control firm and unyielding. The cells might have once belonged to Jenova, but now they were his and only his to control.

It was most pleasing, to watch as the blue eyes dilated suddenly and the muscles that held so much power relaxed, making the boy almost slide down the wall. He caught the blond before he fell and hissed at the intensity of their contact.

It was exhilarating to have someone powerful enough to defeat him in an outright battle so submissive in his arms. The exhilaration, the odd need that had kept on beating at his mind for hours upon hours ever since he awoke turned into something less complicated. Something familiar, something he associated with the presence he could never remember, could never truly grasp.

Arousal.

Sexual desire.

His body reacted sharply to the nearness of the blond, heating up and hardening, the scent of warm flesh, blood and mako stirring his sex in an almost violent need.

For a brief moment it angered him, this lack of control, and he briefly considered taking out his frustration on the cause of such feeling but as soon as the thought entered his mind, the materia in his bracer warmed up.

...not hurt…

…need…

…need…

…need…

…need…

The urge for violence passed quickly under the unforgiving need, leaving only desire to possess, to claim, to bind the blond to him with bonds that could never be broken.

He could feel him fighting the Call, fighting to free himself from the urge, the need to submit to please, to just be close. It made him impatient, and still oddly reluctant to hurt the boy.

...Cloud...

He would satisfy his curiosity and also make sure he didn’t cross a line he didn’t see. It wasn’t like he was cruel or evil. He knew human emotions and could recognize them in others. However it often required a level of empathy that he simply lacked.

Sephiroth was however always aware of his shortcomings and unlike most humans, he didn’t try to deny them. He simply worked around it.

Calling again and feeling an unexpected surge of heat as he watched the blond go boneless in his arms, eyes rolling back and knees giving out. As the long-haired man lowered them both to the floor he turned towards one of the many shadowed entrances to the chamber, towards the vague flash of movement there.

He realized that if left to his own devices he could damage the pretty toy beyond repair. So to counteract his lack, he brought along somebody better equipped to deal with that aspect of human psyche. 

“Yazoo, come.”

 

The end of part 1  
07.2009


	3. Calling part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “… there’s no longer anyone that can be your equal…”

The hands that touched him were warmer than he had expected. 

That was the first thought that came clear to Cloud, cutting through the cacophony of sounds beating at his head.

Everything was fuzzy as he opened his eyes, it was hard to focus, to realize just what was happening. 

It was even harder to control his reaction when he saw just who was touching him.

Before he managed to push Sephiroth away, another pair of hands, cool and strong, wrapped around his wrists and pulled them back, pinning them behind his back, making him arch into his nemesis, making him dizzy, making the voices in his head shriek even louder.

“Don’t fight it Brother.” He felt a strong, lean body press to his back, smelling of leather and mako, felt cool lips move against his ear even as he watched Sephiroth lean back. He could not tear his eyes away from the curious, feline eyes above him.

“You want it too.” The breathy voice whispered in his ear, making him shiver, making the voices in his head change from shrieking cacophony into a low, seductive murmur that whispered of want, desire, need… making it all the harder to resist.

“Let yourself fall.” Yazoo whispered, pressing his face to the side of the blonde’s head, pressing his nose into the spiky, soft hair. “There’s nowhere else to go anymore. Nothing to fear. Let yourself fall, and you won’t ever be alone again Cloud.”

“You want this.” Yazoo kept talking, opening his mouth and pressing an open, wet kiss to the back of Cloud’s neck.

The blond shuddered, feeling dizzy and confused, feeling an unwelcome heat pulling low in his body.

“How long has it been?” Persisted the remnant. “Since you were touched like this?” Another kiss. “Since you were touched at all?” 

The feel of the strong, lithe body beside him, the thrill of being carefully restrained was sending Cloud even further away from anything resembling sanity or coherence.

Sephiroth watched the young remnant touch Cloud lightly and weave a spell with his voice. In merely few minutes he had the blond hesitating, his will to fight no longer so focused, concentrated on warding off Sephiroth. As soon as the General felt the lessened resistance, he backed off with his Call, content for now to watch.

Between the drugs that were given to the blond while unconscious and the Call, the older man knew he could take the boy anytime. However making him choose by himself, making him emotionally responsive for what was going to happen, was a much better plan. It was risky, as it could very well backfire, but more effective in the long run.

“Cloud” Sephiroth called, deliberately using the boy’s name, turning his attention to himself. “You wanted this once, did you not?”

The blue eyes turned to him, hazy and soft, the still slit pupils dilated from the drugs Yazoo slipped Cloud earlier, from the Call that still chipped away at his will and from unwilling desire. 

Sephiroth leaned down, so that the ends of his long hair brushed against the boy. Cloud’s breath hitched and in that moment of unguarded, surprised desire, the General saw how... beautiful the boy really was. His features were astoundingly delicate for someone that could match him in battle, his figure developed by heavy training and enhanced by mako.

“You wanted to be touched by me.” He whispered, leaning even closer to the blond, curtaining them both in his hair. He placed one of his hands over the blond’s heart, feeling it beat rapidly.

“But that’s not enough, is it Cloud?” He asked, huskily, observing the way the boy licked his lips in anticipation of a kiss. He wondered if the blond noticed that Yazoo wasn’t even restraining him anymore.

“You want to be taken, held, possessed.” The General moved his hands to the slender neck above and held tightly, enjoying the feel of rapid pulse under his fingers. “But that is not enough anymore is it?” He taunted gently, letting his instincts take the lead. “You want to be forced too. Want the choice to be taken away from you.”

The boy’s eyes widened, something more than fear and desire filling them.

The General smiled, thin and dangerous.

“Because there’s no longer anyone who actually can do this, is there? None of your friends is strong enough to push you down, to spread your legs and fuck you till you pass out.” They stared into each other’s eyes, Yazoo forgotten for a moment. “Because there’s no longer anyone that can be your equal, who can make you feel human, feel fragile anymore. You don’t belong with them and you know it.”

Sephiroth let his thumb wander the long arch of neck he held tightly in his grasp, careful not to cut the air off.

“Tell the truth.” The silver haired man commanded intently, not letting the boy’s attention wander. “Do you want me? Do you want this?”

They stared at each other for what seemed eternity. The blue eyes held so many emotions that Sephiroth could not identify them all.

Then, even before Cloud made a sound, the General saw the answer in the way Cloud’s body language changed suddenly.

“Yes.” It wasn’t more than a sob, hoarse, broken and shameful.

The end.  
08.2009


	4. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He was so tired of fighting.”

It was liberating somehow, not to have the need to fight any more. Everything was still fuzzy, his eyes still hurt and he had a cacophony of voices fighting for domination in his head.

He was tired of fighting, tired of the loneliness, of the things he was expected to do all the time. 

It all seemed so unreal to Cloud, but even if it was an illusion, it was nice to finally see something other than cruel scorn on Sephiroth’s face. It was a relief to sense something else than cruel intent in the former General’s movements. The strong hand over his throat, so very capable of killing him there and then, felt more restraining, a measure of establishing dominance rather than a true threat.

Through the haze of emotions and voices, the sheer unreality of it, Cloud felt Yazoo start to strip his clothes. He did not resist, body too sluggish, mind too fogged to do anything more than stare into those intense, slitted eyes. 

There was approval and desire in the General’s eyes. They made Cloud feel oddly exhilarated, heady with the fact that he was the focus of that man’s attention. 

When Sephiroth shifted his hand from the restraining hold on Cloud’s throat to a more guiding touch on the nape of the blonde’s neck, Cloud went willingly.

As he stretched to meet their first true kiss, Cloud’s mind blanked completely. For years this was the only dream he refused to entertain, couldn’t even fantasize about it, because he never knew when he would be called to fight Jenova and Sephiroth again. The man was his hero, his first crush, was everything Cloud could never be.

He opened his mouth willingly, letting Sephiroth explore his mouth however he wanted. Cloud still was not convinced it was actually a reality, but he raised his arms and embraced the man that had always been so untouchable.

What he felt was soft, warm skin stretched over muscles like steel. What he could smell was mako and lifestream, leather and underneath it all a strong, clean male scent that he never smelled before.

God’s he was so hard already, the only thing that mattered to him was the chance to fulfill his dream, to take something he was too afraid of before.

When he felt the pleased murmur from the older man it made him arch more, offer more of himself to that strong touch, that presence that was forever outside his reach.

When he felt Yazoo trail slow kisses down his back, he only spread his legs wider over Sephiroth’s thighs, curling his hands into that luxurious hair that was a lot softer than it looked.

When somebody pressed slick fingers to his entrance he wasn’t surprised, no other position never even occurred to him. The brief sting of those fingers entering him was lost in the sound of enjoyment that came from Sephiroth when Cloud pressed down on the erection he could feel underneath him.

The voices in his head were just a mingled noise to him now, no meaning behind their noise. The Call was a softer, gentle pressure that nudged him in the wanted direction, rather than the unbearable shrieking that tried to overrule his own free will.

He could not remember how the General lost his clothes, he kept losing time, everything had a dreamlike quality. 

When both men took his hips and nudged him up, the blond cooperated. Burying his flushed face in that strong shoulder he knelt up, letting them position him at will. The first to touch of Sephiroth’s cock at his entrance shocked him almost back into coherence, freezing him in place, making the pain in his eyes almost unbearable.

As soon as he stiffened though, Yazoo was there, pressing his chest to Cloud’s back, stroking him all over and murmuring soft, crooning words of seduction and encouragement. When Yazoo took Cloud’s cock in his fist and started stroking it, Cloud gave in and let himself sink down.

It was painful, as he expected. He wasn’t really used to this position anymore and taking in someone as big as Sephiroth was, wasn’t easy.

As he panted through the pain and the almost unbearable stretch, he was always aware of the hands at his hips, strong and patient, surprisingly gentle. In his place Cloud could never have this much patience. Still, Sephiroth did not force him down, just stayed still, letting it be Cloud’s choice.

A lot of things had to be his choice, it seemed.

It was a surprise when Sephiroth shifted one of his hands, further on Cloud’s ass, until he could touch the place where the two of them joined together. It made Cloud shiver, when the man started lightly tracing the tightly stretched ring of muscle, sometimes trailing down to stroke his own cock, sometimes venturing deeper between Cloud’s legs to stroke his balls.

With a whine Cloud sank down on the hard cock, his muscles rippling around the shaft. It was so big, so hard to take in. It was everything Cloud ever imagined it to be.

He tried to hold on as Sephiroth pushed him back, making him fall back, almost on top of Yazoo. The younger man was still there, his own hard on now trapped by Cloud’s back, rubbed over the blond’s sweaty skin.

Cloud wondered if Yazoo would fuck him too, or would he make Cloud service him some other way.

It was already too much for him.

* * *

It felt tight and hot, so different from anything he experienced before. The need in him was not quenched yet, but different. Softer. Sweeter. It was no longer driving him mad.

The blond warrior under him seemed smaller now, without the layers of armor and weaponry, and so very young.

There was no resistance in the boy any more, at least not physically. As Sephiroth shifted to get more purchase and made his thrusts stronger, making the boy take all of him over and over. There was no protest from the blond.

Cloud Strife only arched, his jaw clenching against the sensation of being fucked so thoroughly, and then he spasmed. His whole body tensed and curled upward, cock splashing white liquid as he came.

He was so open in that moment, vulnerable, flushed and breathless. In that moment the blond warrior looked truly beautiful to Sephiroth.

Yes.

That voice inside, the one that both guided and tormented him, crowed in pleasure.

This was right.

This was something he was searching for.

This boy.

Cloud Strife.

Just like this. Open, vulnerable, willing, so damn beautiful.

Sephiroth fucked Cloud straight through his orgasm and into another erection. The man had enough mako in his system to keep going for a very, very long time.

Even though it had to be painful, Strife never once protested, only arching more into the next thrust, completely lost in the carnality of their actions.

His body still spasmed erratically, squeezing Sephiroth’s cock like a vise, making the older man lose his patience.

Throughout it all, he could feel his materia warm and alive, hovering in that space where he could summon it from, emanating energy, giving him impression of intense approval.

* * *

Cloud watched the usually stoic man above him flush with sexual heat, watched his muscles stand out in sharp relief as he strained with each powerful thrust. The feel of that hard cock stretching him open, taking him like it was his right, drove all coherent thought out of Cloud’s mind.

Sephiroth was stunning in his orgasm, the pleasure making him already perfect features incandescent. His pale lips were flushed and swollen from kissing, his face, neck and chest no longer coldly pale but flushed pale pink, and his always perfect hair was in disarray, strands of it flying everywhere, tangling between their bodies like veins.

Cloud was this close to coming again, just from this, just from watching Sephiroth, but Yazoo held him back, squeezing his overly sensitive but already erect cock and staying off his orgasm.

Before he managed the coherence to complain, Yazoo rolled them over, making the world go fuzzy. When he opened his eyes again, he was lying between the younger man’s legs, with both hands supporting his weight on the floor.

Yazoo’s hair was spread over the gray stone, soft shorter strands clung to his flushed face. His eyes were dilated, the pupils soft ovals instead of sharp slits.

He was naked too, all that pale flesh stretched out under Cloud in clear invitation. Soft, strong thighs kept stroking Cloud’s sides in an obvious hurry up gesture.

So soft, so sexual... he was breathtaking. Slim and almost androgynous in the way Sephiroth never was, Yazoo was both like the General and a completely different person.

Cloud was stunned again, by the sheer beauty of the remnant. Gentle now, soft and yielding in pure sexuality, he could be fierce and cold in battle.

When the blond touched those swollen lips with his thumb a pink, agile tongue flickered out to taste and lick, and then suck it in.

Not afraid, not ashamed, Yazoo was truly free in his want.

* * *

Yazoo didn’t expect much from this. It wasn’t for his own benefit, but Sephiroth’s. Both the sex and the bonding he was expected to do. Nothing was his in this.

Yet when he opened his eyes to look at Strife, the man was watching him.

Truly watching him.

There was awe in the blond man’s face. 

Desire.

Surprise.

The almost chaste kiss stunned him as much as the gentle press of Clouds long denied erection at his already prepared entrance.

He expected to be fucked hard and fast, a means for completion, not made love to.

More out of balance than he could ever remember being, Yazoo tentatively opened the empathic connection.

He could sense Sephiroth, loud and clear, a central point for everything, watching quietly, thoughtfully from a distance.

Then he could feel Big Brother.

Lust.

Need.

Awe.

Gentleness.

Nostalgia.

So many, so many emotions. Strange, gentle ones directed at Yazoo himself, a former enemy.

It was odd to realize that what he felt was forgiveness.

Underneath it all, there was pain. An endless sea of pain Yazoo couldn’t even try to understand.

A sudden surge of energy from Sephiroth took him by surprise, snapping the connection into place, forever joining Yazoo and Cloud Strife.

They were family now.

Overly stimulated already, Cloud came first, spilling hot come inside the remnant. As deep as they were connected at that moment, it was all it took to send Yazoo over the edge too.

The end.  
08.2009


	5. Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It was not happening.”

The first time he woke up was to the smell of fresh tea and fruit, and a brief, stinging pain in his arm.

His head still hurt a bit, mostly his eyes and he felt strangely disconnected from reality. It was fast becoming a habit. Cloud could not remember how he got into the bed but there he was again, cocooned in soft sheets and warm... furs of all things.

“What’s going on?” He managed to mumble as he saw Yazoo drop a syringe into a wastebasket and bend down to pick up a breakfast tray from the bedside table.

It seemed that his life wasn’t finished with being surreal yet.

“It’s a mild sedative. I’ve been giving it to you for the last two days.” Yazoo explained calmly, seating himself and the tray on the bed beside Cloud.

“Why?” It just couldn’t be happening...

“So that you stop angsting all over the place and actually think clearly.”

Cloud groaned and rubbed his aching ayes. Jeez, now the clone sounded like Tifa.

“And this.” Cloud nodded at the tray.

“Food. He thinks you don’t eat enough.” It was oh so obvious who the “He” was in Yazoo’s sentence.

Cloud opened his eyes and fixed them on the curved ceiling.

“So that really happened?” He asked despite himself.

Yazoo laughed, watching him with warm eyes.

“You two looked quite hot together.”

Cloud rolled over, hiding the mortified blush that he could feel creeping up over his face.

“I can’t believe I did that.” He mumbled into his hands, mostly to himself.

“What? Spread his legs for Sephiroth, letting him take you as long and as hard as he pleased? And then turned away and fucked me within an inch of my life while he watched? Yes, you did.”

“Urgh.” Was all that Cloud could say, still mortified.

Yazoo took a small section of the waiting fruit and sucked it from his fingers noisily, making a small production of licking the fingers clean later.

“You weren’t half bad at that, too. Had some practice recently?”

Cloud grabbed a fistful of the furs and sheets and pulled them over the pillow already hiding his face.

This was so not happening to him. It was simply a figment of his imagination, a delusion. He was quite good at them, too.

Yazoo laughed again, a strangely relaxed and open sound. During their brief fight before, Cloud didn’t really get a feel for any of the brothers beside Kadaj.

When they fought all together they were scarily effective. When he fought Yazoo and Loz he was mesmerized by the perfect timing the brothers had, the complete and utter understanding between them. He was jealous of it, because it was something he’d never had. He saw it sometimes in the recordings of Sephiroth and Zack sparring, but it wasn’t something he ever achieved for himself.

“Why you?” Cloud asked, still under the covers.

Unexpectedly he could feel Yazoo’s mood shifting, darkening, the light playfulness from a moment ago gone suddenly.

“I am an empath.”

It was such a simple statement but it implied things that could never be true.

Yazoo sighed, sensing Cloud’s disbelief.

“He knows he can be... ruthless, even brutal in acquiring the things he wants. You are what he wants right now and he realized that in his quest to fulfill his desires he could rip you apart. That’s why he got me here, to act as a buffer.”

Cloud decided that he could mule over that little bombshell later, when he was more convinced it was actually the truth. Right now it was simply... too much.

“Why do you always call Sephiroth a He? You barely ever use his name, you don’t call him brother, why?” Cloud asked instead of what he truly wanted to know.

Yazoo stayed quiet, stubbornly refusing to answer the question.

Cloud regretted pressing the issue immediately. After all somebody who was ripped apart from the lifestream and brought back simply to be a tool for somebody else was bound to have issues.

The three of them, they weren’t that much different after all.

“Sephiroth said… that he won’t hurt my friends. It that true?” Cloud pushed the covers aside to better see Yazoo’s face. It was important to see if the clone would speak the truth.

“If they won’t attack him, yes. Even I have orders not to engage any of your friends in fight. Mother... no longer exists. He no longer has any reason to destroy or hurt Gaia. It was never him, after all.”

If that was the truth, then Sephiroth was just as much a victim as Aerith and Zack, and Cloud kept hunting down somebody who needed help, not death.

How much further could he betray Zack’s memory?

 

The end.  
09.2009


	6. Going Under

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The man expected to be worshipped.”

When Cloud woke up again, he wasn’t alone either and this time it wasn’t Yazoo.

In a chair that now faced the bed, sat Sephiroth unlike Cloud has never seen before. 

He was barefoot, oddly enough it was the first thing Cloud noticed. The long appendages drew his gaze, were graceful and strong, pale and perfect.

The trademark leather pants that were such a big part of the man’s image looked surprisingly comfortable, stretched thin over the powerful muscles. The fitted black shirt was open at the chest like always, but the coat was missing, as was the sword harness that usually criss-crossed the General’s chest. 

His hair, still as long and eerie, looked softer now, a bit messy, resting mostly over one shoulder, some loose strands trailing over the back of the chair down to the very floor.

One hand was resting on the armrest, the other was being used to prop up the smooth chin.

Sephiroth was watching him with a thoughtful expression, considering him.

Even though he felt no ill intent from the man, Cloud sat up quickly, still a bit confused by the drugs and headache. Long experience taught Cloud that it was never a good idea to let that man have any kind of advantage.

He considered getting up, but there was way too big a risk that Sephiroth would consider that action offensive. Above all, Cloud didn’t want another fight with the ex-General. He was so damn tired of fighting.

“Yazoo said you are being stubborn.”

It always amazed Cloud just how perfect the man was. Even his voice was low and smooth, mesmerizing and sexy.

It was hard, keeping eye contact with that calm, steady gaze. Cloud always lacked this kind of self-assurance, always envied it in Zack or Sephiroth. 

“You are having me drugged every day.” Cloud snapped back, surprised at how easy it was this time. Maybe he did grow up a bit.

Sephiroth’s gaze was still unflinching, calm, and held no traces of shame or guilt.

Bastard.

“I needed you to be calm.”

“Having me out of my mind with drugs is not calm. There are other ways.” Cloud argued, the situation way too similar to what Hojo might have done.

“You have to stay here.” Sephiroth’s voice was still so calm and even, smooth and almost mesmerizing. Still as sexy as ever. And damn, it really wasn’t what Cloud was supposed to be thinking. 

“Even with the drugs I can still leave.” The mako in his system would eventually clear his body of the toxins, he would also build up tolerance. This he knew from experience. 

“And go where?” It was calm, cold and cruel of the General, to throw the sad state of Cloud’s life in his face.

Cloud knew he didn’t really have a place to go. He could not come back to Tifa and watch her eyes become shadowed with doubts and resentment as he constantly failed to reciprocate her feelings and was never man enough to explain just why he rejecter her.

After all this time Cloud didn’t even have a home. He spent most of his time either on the road or sleeping in Aerith’s old church.

He had nowhere to go and he knew it all too well.

Cloud said nothing, averting his eyes. It seemed that the saner the silver haired man was, the more devastating his attacks became.

It was Sephiroth who broke the heavy silence between them.

“Then what do you propose?” The silver haired man asked calmly, stunning Cloud into silence again.

Not so surprisingly it was the part that was more Zack than Cloud came up first with a riposte.

“You are the one in the wrong, so why should I give you anything?”

There was something almost like a smile on Sephiroth’s face for a brief moment before he schooled his face into impassiveness again. 

“But I am the one with all the cards. What could you offer me in exchange for stopping the drugs? Something that I don’t have already, obviously?”

Cloud straightened up, feeling vulnerable only in his sleepwear. He really missed his sword.

“My free will.”

Sephiroth cocked his head in a universal listening pose.

“If you promise to stop with the drugs I promise to stay here and listen to what you have to say.”

Sephiroth linked both of his hands together at his waist and fixed his unreadable eyes on Cloud.

“You stay within the city limits, always. You leave only with me or Yazoo. You don’t fight the connection with Yazoo.”

Cloud closed his eyes.

“I agree.”

“Then from now on there will be no more drugs.”

Oddly enough, Cloud believed that Sephiroth would be true to his promise.

When the older man rose gracefully from the chair, Cloud instinctively backed away. For some reason he felt more intimidated by this informal, barefoot version of the General than he did when facing him in battle. Right now, watching the muscles in Sephiroth’s stomach ripple as he moved so fluidly and gracefully, Cloud felt overwhelmed by the sheer sexuality and masculinity the man was radiating.

“I enjoyed last night.” The statement sent Cloud into panic.

“This was not part of the deal!” Cloud argued, but he stayed still as a statue as Sephiroth approached and reached out a warm palm to curl around the nape of Cloud’s neck.

“Oh, but you agreed to this already.” The older man murmured stretching his thumb to touch the corner of Cloud’s lips. “You did say ‘yes’ after all.”

When Sephiroth exerted pressure on the blond’s neck, Cloud didn’t resist. He just moved up to his knees, stretching out to meet the approaching kiss halfway.

The kiss was slower than the day before, less forceful. Sephiroth had already conquered this territory, he was now merely enjoying the spoils.

Without thought Cloud opened his mouth to let Sephiroth in deeper. Maybe it was shallow of him, but he was weak, he failed his friends so many times, but even if it was just another delusion, Cloud wanted this. He wanted to feel, even for a moment, how it would be to be desired by this incredible man.

Sephiroth gave a small murmur of pleasure at Cloud’s surrender and deepened the kiss even more, making it clear what his intentions were.

Cloud actually whimpered when the older man pulled away. He sat down on his heels and stared mesmerized as the General slowly started unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt.

Sephiroth’s gaze never moved from Cloud, and the blond could only stare helplessly as the General first opened one cuff and then the other, his long fingers nimbly working the buttons.

Then in a slow movement, obviously designed for its effect on Sephiroth’s muscles, the man pulled the shirt off, letting it drop carelessly to the floor.

People often called the silver haired man a god and there was something in the way he looked right then that spoke quite clearly that he man expected to be worshipped.

“Finish it.” The order was quiet but laced with a faint trace of challenge. It occurred to Cloud that he wasn’t the only one that didn’t quite trust the other.

This order however? He was definitely going to obey.

Sephiroth was breathtaking and Cloud never thought he would have the chance to actually touch him. So sexy, so powerful, so damn sure of himself, he was always something completely beyond Cloud’s reach.

He was not going to let this kind of chance pass him by.

Making the first move under Sephiroth’s watchful eyes was the hardest. Kneeling up once again, putting his hands on those slim hips was probably one of the scariest things Cloud ever did in his life.

Sephiroth did not push him away though. He only put his hands on Cloud’s neck and directed his face closer to that rippled stomach.

The blond didn’t wait for invitation. He leaned closer and licked the nearest patch of smooth, pale skin, relishing the taste.

It was so heady, being this close to his idol, tasting his skin, it made his hands shake as he struggled to open the clasps of those trademark leather pants. 

The blond tried running his tongue over the grooves in that perfectly defined six-pack, but the urge to actually feel if the muscles there were as firm as the looks suggested was stronger. Driven by desire more than actual thought, Cloud tilted his head and sank his teeth into the exposed muscle, enjoying how it flinched. 

There was a sharp intake of breath from above and then Sephiroth was pushing him away, making Cloud sprawl backwards on the bed. The older man reached for his half undone pants and pushed them down quickly, giving Cloud a brief look at the heavy cock revealed, already filled with blood and flushed pale pink. It was long and a lot bigger than Cloud’s own but it only made sense with just how much bigger the man was overall.

The blond couldn’t look for long because he was already being pushed down with the silver haired man getting on top of him.

It still surprised Sephiroth off guard how quickly and violently he could get aroused. One minute he was simply teasing the boy, seeing just how far he could push him and the next all bets were off and he needed to have the blond now.

Strife was willing, letting Sephiroth push him down and strip without any trouble. His mind was surprisingly clear then too, the constant confusion of what he was and what he wanted was gone, even that presence that always filled him with unending need was quiet now, filled, pleased with how things were going.

It fascinated the General, how slim the blond really was. He could vaguely remember fighting Strife and meeting more than his match in the blond, however looking at him now, spread so willingly underneath him, Sephiroth could not quite put those two pictures together.

The blond warrior was built surprisingly small for someone so powerful. His hands were smaller than Sephiroth’s. His wrists, although corded with muscles, were still frail enough that the silver-haired man could wrap his hand around them both, pinning Cloud to the bed.

Sephiroth held him that way for a while, just enjoying the sight of all that well defined muscles offered for his pleasure. He ran his eyes over the chest that expanded with every breath and the firm stomach that worked on every exhale. There was something very arousing in the way the blond hair fell all over the place in messy yet soft looking spikes.

The boy stayed obediently still when the General let him go, the empty hands curling into loose fists. Lowering his head the older man let the silky fall of his hair brush the man under him. It got the expected effect and the blond arched ever so slightly into the subtle caress.

The General pressed his teeth to the exposed neck, doing his best to mark the blond permanently, even if he knew that the hickey would disappear in a few hours with the level of healing the younger man possessed. 

Cloud shivered under his touch, willing and responsive, charmingly submissive when he could be oh so dangerous.

Unhurriedly, Sephiroth tasted the skin stretched over tight muscles, biting and sucking until bright marks showed. When he hooked his fingers under the waistband of Clouds sleep pants, the blond only tilted his hips, putting up no resistance at all.

When Sephiroth pulled the pants completely away, he was pleased to see the boy completely erect. His cock was stiff, arching up shamelessly from a nest of blond curls, already wet at the tip. The boy was so good, the General decided to reward him for it. He put one steadying hand on the blond’s hip and engulfed the needy erection in one swallow. That was too much for Cloud’s control. The younger man curled up and around Sephiroth’s head, both hands burying themselves in the long hair. The hurried panting and the almost whines that escaped the boy were amusing enough that Sephiroth continued sucking him off, torturing the hard flesh with his lips and tongue.

It was a good distraction too.

The older man slid his free hand between those strong, smooth thighs and found the arch of his buttocks. Then it was just a moment as his finger found the tight entrance to Cloud’s body.

The boy moaned and clenched his hands tighter in Sephiroth’s hair as the older man pressed two fingers inside. 

It was hot and tight inside the boy, but the General wasn’t surprised to still feel the slickness from the night before.

With the mako in the boy’s system it would be enough.

The older man pulled away, grabbing Cloud’s arms and making him let go of the death-grip he had on his hair.

Cloud stared at him with wide eyes, pupils so dilated they nearly covered the blue. He was flushed and lips were wet and swollen from being bitten down on so much.

Cloud Strife’s eyes were no longer green and slitted.

“Turn over.”

The blond stared at him with that helplessly aroused gaze before he slowly nodded and licked his lips. As he started turning, Sephiroth kept his hands on Cloud’s body, letting them trail over the hot skin, enjoying the flex of sinew and muscle. The blond positioned himself on hands and knees, and lowered his head, hiding his face in the sheets as he lowered himself on his elbows.

Oh, yes.

All that well toned flesh exposed for him so prettily made Sephiroth’s heart pound in unfamiliar desire. The shame was a thrilling counterpart to the way the blond warrior spread his knees so damn far at the slightest prodding from Sephiroth. He obviously was no stranger to this position.

Sephiroth spent a moment admiring the contours of tight muscles in Cloud’s back, the attractive fit of those pert buttocks in his hands and the heavy balls hanging so defenselessly between the blond’s legs.

When Sephiroth pushed in, Cloud made only the softest of sounds, but his hands fisted in the sheets, while all the muscles in his back stood out in sharp definition. Watching that strong body tense, struggle to take in the cock that was pushing so slowly at the tight entrance made Sephiroth want to do it all the more. It seemed endlessly fascinating, watching the shamed submission of the blond warrior contrasting with the erotic willingness of his actions.

It felt incredible, being squeezed so tightly, at the edge of being painful. Cloud was like a vice, clenching around him and pulsing, struggling to accept him even deeper. All the older man could do was grab onto those slim hips and slam home until his balls slapped against Cloud’s own. That made the blond make a delicious sound. Everything blurred into a haze of desire and sex as Sephiroth fucked into the boy hard and fast, enjoying the sounds the blond made, the clench over his cock and the way Cloud’s hands clenched so tightly into the sheets, expressing everything his hidden face didn’t.

It really didn’t take long to reach a point of no return, making Sephiroth push as deeply as possible into the man under him, making him moan and spill himself into the willing body, enjoying the way Cloud kept pumping his hips into Sephiroth, obviously searching for release.

The older man slid his hand over the well defined stomach until he reached the painfully hard cock and closed his palm over it, giving the blond something to fuck into.

It was exhilarating to feel him struggle to gain that few last moments of stimulation and Sephiroth leaned even closer, his barely softened cock still buried deep in the boy’s ass and his hair falling in soft strands over the sweaty, shifting back of the man underneath. It was exhilarating, hearing the choked off moans and gasps as the boy tried to find his own release, working his hips forward into the offered fist and then back into the cock still impaling him, all the time making those soft, strangled noises. 

Sephiroth pressed his lips to the soft skin behind the boy’s ear and then bit down on the sensitive tendon, marking him, possessing him. That seemed enough, with a shudder and almost a breathy little sound the blond came, spilling his release over Sephiroth’s hand and clenching on his cock. 

Still holding himself up on one hand, the General watched as all tension left the boy and the warrior sank down on the bed, panting heavily, eyes closed.

Sephiroth straightened out on his knees, gaining better purchase, spreading them and forcing Cloud to spread his legs too. It made the blond tighten up on the cock inside him and send a shudder of pleasure down the Generals back.

He tossed his hair back, feeling a bit of sweat gather in his hairline and watching the exhausted boy beneath him.

Smiling, He made his hips move again, enjoying both the surprised gasp the boy made as well as the clench of his tunnel. The boy was soaking wet now, with oil and Sephiroth’s earlier release, some of it running down his legs and the moisture adding an almost obscene sucking sound to every thrust Sephiroth made. It was so carnal, so very human, it made Sephiroth’s heart pound with excitement.

Cloud’s eyes snapped open and his hands clenched in the sheets again when he realized what Sephiroth was doing.

The General looked down some of his hair falling forward and spilled onto the boy’s back, making him shiver.

The older man reached out and buried his fingers in the spiky hair, now damp with sweat. He tightened his fingers and pulled Cloud’s head up, making the boy arch his whole body and gasp.

“Surely Cloud, you didn’t think I was finished yet, did you?” He mocked gently, still fucking the blond with slow, steady thrusts.

Mako increased not only strength but also stamina, and between the two of them they had more than enough mako in their systems to go for a very, very long time. 

 

The end.

A/N: my favorite line here was “Finish it.” That was actually the whole reason for this fic :)  
A/N2: Yazoo basically manipulated Cloud into making this deal. The fact that Cloud knew about the drugs was a sure way to make him want to stop it.


	7. Beasts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “At first Reno thought it would be easy to loose the creatures in the labyrinth of small crawlspaces that was the collapsed Midgar, but soon they realized that things weren’t going to go their way this easily.”

The ruins of Midgar were a place one could easily hide himself in. Not only did the endless expanse of shattered city infrastructure offer numerous hiding places, the place was just as populated as before. Numerous survivors, ex-Shinra workers and street gangs took residence there, greedily claiming as much space as possible. In the years since the Meteor, Midgar changed from a pile of urban trash into a cradle of new city. The many different social groups tended to stick together and offer services for the thousands of hunters that came to Midgar every year. Treasure hunters. Their trade was in digging through the ruins in search of the many things that were buried along with the city, from jewelry and precious items, valuable metals, through the common necessities like furniture and other household items, working machines, up to recovering the data that survived the catastrophe.

The last one was an incredibly well paying job, if dangerous and expensive. Among the many different groups there was one that was interesting to Yazoo. Between his Hounds and his empathy, finding out just which faction was connected to Rufus Shinra the most was child’s play. His summons watched the place those so called treasure hunters set up as their base until they saw somebody with more power than those lowly grunts doing all the dirty work.

Sitting on the huge motorcycle Yazoo closed his eyes and connected with the Hound closest to the fairly well kept, two story building. There was a moment of disorientation as his senses connected with the beast and then the creature showed him what it saw. A vaguely familiar redhead with markings under his eyes and a long, thin ponytail. He wore a trademark suit, if a bit disheveled.

A Turk.

Briefly he paused to wonder if Cloud considered the Turks his friends, but a quick poke over their connection was enough to ascertain that no, he did not consider them friends.

If his brothers were here, he would have cheerfully attempted to wreck merry havoc on everything in sight. They were not here however and Yazoo was painfully aware of the fact he wasn’t allowed any mistakes this time. No half-heartedness would be tolerated, no loss of targets. While he wasn’t really interested in the Reunion their Mother wanted so much, he followed Kadaj simply because he was family. He was more than aware that his heart wasn’t in those battles he fought.

All of them had paid for that carelessness.

Now there wouldn’t be any mistakes. No playing around, no hesitating.

Sephiroth wanted those men, and it was the silver haired man that held the power to bring back the rest of his family.

* * *

Reno looked back over his shoulder at Rude. His partner wasn’t looking too good. His usually pristine suit was dirty and torn in more than one place. His right arm, his primary arm, was cut up pretty badly from where he tried to use his fists to pry the huge jaws of a Hell Hound loose.

They couldn’t really afford the pause, but Rude had to treat the wounds or he would be soon unable to move freely.

It all seemed more than a bit unreal. Just twenty minutes ago they came to Midgar to check on their excavating operation. No sooner had they entered the building when disturbingly familiar summons in the shape of Hell Hounds broke in through the windows, door and even crashing straight through the walls. There were dozens of them. Huge dark bodies melting in and out of shadows, armored heads nosing quickly though the rooms, obviously searching for something.

Rude and he tried to fight off the beasts, hoping to take them one by one in the cramped space of the building, but their plan didn’t really work out. The moment they confronted the first creature, everything froze. Even now he could remember it clearly. The way the Hound looked at him with those golden, glowing eyes of him was eerie. The beast froze, sniffed at him and then his eyes suddenly changed color. From golden to green and the whole atmosphere changed. Somehow Reno got the impression that he was standing in front of a person rather than a beast, the impression of intent was so strong.

Without any outward signs, any kind of visible reason, the remaining beasts left the other people alone and turned towards the Turks.

It didn’t take them long to figure out that they were the target and that their firepower was nowhere near what was needed to deal with the Hounds, so they ran.

At first Reno thought it would be easy to lose the creatures in the labyrinth of small crawlspaces that was the collapsed Midgar, but soon they realized that things weren’t going to go their way this easily. The damn summons were using brute strength to crash though the smaller obstacles, and even if they managed to shake the summons momentarily, they would soon be found again, as if they had a tracking bug on them.

Holed up in what used to be a store and was now just a few slabs of concrete holding together on a prayer, Rude tried his best to administer first aid while Reno kept watch. The redhead wanted to help his partner but lowering his guard for even a moment was too dangerous.

Something skittered in the small crawlspace they came in from and Reno tensed, his electro rod powering up with a faint thrum. The damn fuckers couldn’t have found them this fast, could they?

Carefully he cast a glance towards the entrance and among the many shadows and debris littered on the floor he noticed small, gray shape.

A rat.

Reno released a shaky breath and turned, talking to Rude.

“Yo, how’s the arm? I want to get the fuck out of here already, almost jumped out of my skin for a fucking rat, I’m te…” He trailed off suddenly, realizing that the rat’s eyes were green. Green like no rat ever had and the same glowing, eerie color that the beasts that attacked the headquarters had.

With a curse he lunged back at the entrance but the rat was gone already.

Shit.

“Whoever the bastard is who’s standing behind this whole mess, he’s using not only the big ass Hell Hounds but also the fucking rats!”

Rude grunted tying off the last of the provisory bandages.

“No wonder they keep finding us.” The bigger man said, rising from the stack of crates he’d been using as a bench.

“Yep. PHS isn’t working either, we need to get higher up, closer to the surface for the signal to go through.” Reno grumbled, flipping his PHS closed.

His partner pulled his definitely worse for wear jacket on again. It was time to move again.

* * *

Yazoo smiled and shifted on the bike, his eyes half closed and unseeing. Possessing the creatures he summoned was a dangerous job, mostly because it left him unprotected. Usually Loz would stay with him to watch his back, but now he was alone and more than aware of that fact.

Still, it wasn’t like he couldn’t make do with what he had. Thankfully the creatures he summoned tended to have a lot of affection towards him. In practice it meant that if he left some of them roaming around him, they would automatically protect him from harm. Or at least try.

Yazoo was almost grateful for the chance to lose himself in the action, it made him turn away from the connection to Sephiroth and Cloud. He was aware of what they were both doing at the time, of the powerful emotions that kept pouring out from them. Sephiroth was controlling the flow with his usual efficiency but Cloud wasn’t as experienced. Actually the blond warrior was surprisingly... open, receptive to Yazoo’s gift. It also never ceased to surprise him how different Cloud really was from what he had thought of him. Being so strong, having Mother’s cells in him, Yazoo expected him to be more like... Sephiroth. Instead the blond was a completely different being, different from anything Yazoo has ever known. His emotions were excruciatingly strong, but tended to be directed inwards. Self hatred, depression, disappointment, anger... For reasons known only to himself, Cloud didn’t direct those feelings towards Yazoo, and rarely even Sephiroth. For the most part he seemed to be confused, hurting and disarmingly gentle. It boggled the mind, how someone so fragile could be so strong. It went against everything mother taught them about power…

For those reasons the young clone tended to be drawn to the older blond. The emotions he radiated, the genuine ease with which he accepted the emphatic link was like a balm to his frazzled nerves, soothing the hollow ache his brother’s left behind, healing the pain Sephiroth caused. 

Still, it wasn’t a coincidence that he was ordered to act this day rather than any other. He could easily feel the sudden spike in emotions coming from Big Brother, the tension and nervousness and then sudden desire mixed with the first stirrings of acceptance. It wasn’t real yet, it would take a lot of time to get someone as wary and withdrawn as Cloud to open up completely, but it was a start. It pulled at Yazoo, making him remember those who were no longer there. However Sephiroth did not like the idea of Yazoo joining them this time. The clone was obviously good to fix the former General’s screw ups, but the moment he wanted something for himself, he was ordered to get lost.

Angry, resentful and above all achingly lonely, Yazoo almost lost the connection with his beasts, his emotional turmoil making the creatures go berserk.

Forcing the bitter feelings down, he stilled his mind and concentrated on herding the two Turks to the ambush he carefully prepared earlier.

He frowned suddenly, his empathy picking up something... he had no idea what, and that was not something that happened often. With a thought he let go of the beasts, the creatures would follow his orders readily, always so eager to please him.

With his senses free, he cast around searching for the curious feeling. Neither man, nor beast, it called to his empathy, to that odd part of him that spoke to the creatures he summoned. It called sweetly, enticingly, making Yazoo shiver in an unknown before excitement.

The End


End file.
